Love is in the air for Miss Mary Bennet this Christmas, in a holiday-themed sequel to Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” Austen neglected to give much attention to Mary, a middle sister in the Bennet family, as she wrote her masterpiece early in the 19th century. So this has made her character irresistible to modern playwright Lauren Gunderson, working in conjunction with Margot Melcon. They have created the delightful Miss Bennet , a show for the whole family to enjoy. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s version of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberly offers a nice alternative to Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, which the Rep is staging in a theater right across the hallway. Thankfully, neither of the plays cancels out the other. They are both worthy of a visit this holiday season.
As previously mentioned, Miss Bennet centers around the overlooked Mary, a bookish sort who now has convenient access to the extensive library at Pemberly, the home of Lizzy (Margaret Ivey) and Fitzwilliam Darcy (Yousof Sultani). (Design credit for the scrumptious and elegantly appointed set goes to Courtney O’Neill.)
As the play begins, Mary (Rebecca Hurd) has come from away to gather with the family at Pemberly. Arriving a few days before Christmas, she is a bit apprehensive at the thought of reuniting with her sisters after such a long absence. The last couple of years have been hard on her. When not caring for her aging parents, Mary has been mostly confined to their residence. Books and the pianoforte have become her only pastimes. There hasn’t been any time for a social life.
Once her sisters Lizzy, Jane (Sarai Rodriguez) and Lydia (Netta Walker) arrive, they are slow to recognize that Mary now has become a young woman. It’s Mr. Darcy who first notices a change in Mary, and he is not surprised when another holiday guest, the newly wealthy and very single Lord Arthur de Bourgh (pronounced de Berg), also recognizes Mary as a potentially marriageable young woman.
Despite the grand size of the Pemberly estate, Mary and Arthur (Jordan Brodess) seem to cross paths frequently. This is a good thing, as the scenes between them are some of the play’s best. They both seem to communicate on an otherworldly level that only the other understands. They discuss books they have read, and it’s almost possible to see Mary’s heart soar as she realizes she has found someone who finally understands her way of thinking. Mary warns Arthur about her sharp tongue, but he seems not to even notice. He is clearly mesmerized by Mary’s presence.
While Arthur’s shyness prevents him from proclaiming his love for Mary, he goes to Mr. Darcy and Jane’s husband, Charles Bingley (Fred Geyer) for help. The men are delighted to share their advice on winning a woman’s heart, and this, too, is hilariously funny.
(While Miss Bennet clearly belongs to the women characters, the men tackle their parts with gusto. Although the tongue-tied Arthur’s performance is by far the funniest, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley give him a run for his money as a pair of self-satisfied gentlemen. Bingley, in particular, is especially pleased with himself for siring a child.)
However, the men fade into the background once more once they are upstaged by an end-of-Act I visitor who claims to be Arthur’s fiancée. The perfectly awful Anne de Bourgh (Deanna Myers), a distant relation to Arthur, claims her recently deceased mother’s wish was for the two of them to be married. When she puts the screws on Arthur to bend him to her strong will, he resignedly agrees to marry her.
But the married men will have none of this, especially since they now see Arthur and Mary as an ideal match. In their discussions with Arthur, they stiffen his resolve to shun Anne in favor of Mary.
It all turns out fine in the end, of course. The sisters struggle through some growing pains and emerge with a new dynamic that sets themselves a good path for the future. As the play ends, it is with the bright anticipation of a new year ahead, as well as a new baby for Jane and Charles, and the prospect of a wedding for Mary and Arthur.
It is not necessary to be a Jane Austen fan to fully enjoy this production, although those who are “Pride and Prejudice” fans will find more than a few nuggets in the script to keep them happy.
